Reversible front cuff link



May 27, 1952 w. H. MEEKER REVERSIBLE FRONT CUFF LINK Filed Aug. 23. Y 1949 INVENTOR William 114 Meeker BY Ww%m ATTORNEYS Patented May 27, 1952 UNITED STATES aren't OFFICE 2,597,887 REVERSIBLE FRONT CUFF LINK Application August 23, 1949, Serial No. 111,917

Claims. (01. 24-102) This invention relates to a reversible front member for cuff links.

One object of the present invention is to pro vide. a cuff link having a reversible front member carrying contrasting colors or other differing design characteristics on its inner and outer faces to be displayed to view, interchangeably, as may be desired by the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cuff link including a. reversible front member composed of an ornamental metal or other element or shell carrying against the inner face thereof a stone or other element of substantially the same shape as the shape of the shell and having the same or different color or design on its outer surface from that of the ornamental metal or other shell element.

Another object of the invention resides inthe provision of a cuif link including a reversible front member carrying the same or contrasting colors or designs on opposite faces thereof and in which the reversible front member is frictionally or otherwise releasably held in the selected positions of reversal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a and link provided with a reversible front meme her having differing ornamental characteristics on the inner and outer facesthereof for exposure to view, interchangeably, and thereby providing in the one cuff link, a front member capable of manipulation to provide, in use, a two-in-one ornamental cufi link.

It is still a further object .of the instant invention to provide a reversible front member for a cuff link carrying differing ornamental characteristics on the inner. and outer faces thereof for interchangeable positioning of the front memher to view on the wearer.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of: parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the. accompanying drawings and pointed out in the. claims hereto appended, it being understood thatvarious changes in the form, proportions, and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to. without departing from the spirit of or sacrificing of any advan-. tages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, the various views are shown enlarged for the purpose of clearness, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view ofthe cuff link showing the ornamental front member in one operative position with relation to the shank.

Figure 2 .is a similar view showing the front member in reverse position on the shank.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the, line 3-3 of Figure 2, the dotted lines indicating swinging movement of the front member from one position to a reversed position on the shank.

Figured is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an inverted plane view of the metal or other shell, with the stone, removed from the shell.

Figure 6 is a detail view partly in elevation and partly in section showing particularly the front member reversed as compared with the showing in Figure 3.

Figure 7 is acrosssectional view taken on the line 1- -1 of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view illustrating the mounting on the rear member of the cuff link.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, the reference character In indicates, generally, the new cuff link including a suitable shank indicated, generally, by the reference character II, and, the reversible front member indicated generally at. l2 and the rear cuifattaching member, in this instance, a pivoted bar It, the essential feature. of the invention being the reversible front, member carrying differing colors or other differing characteristics on its inner and. outer faces for display or view, interchangeably, thereby creating a two-in-one cuff link.

The shank i l is illustrated as composed mainly of a short stem I4 and an aligning, substantially U-shaped element, both riveted rigidly together and the latter including spaced legs l5 and an inner connecting bight portion It. The legs 15 preferably converge very slightly to the. rear of the cuff link and they are slightly resilient and at their free ends said rear member or bar [3 is pivoted on a suitable pivot. I! so that. the, bar [3 may swing inwardly between said legs in the plane of the axis of the shank or laterally of the shank at the rear end thereof and concealed from view behind the sleeve cuffl The bar l3 may be swung on its pivot in either of opposite directions and is preferably composed of metal.

To. hold the inner rear member or bar I 3 in reversed or adjusted positions, a friction holding means is provided in the form of sets of semispherical shapedprotuberances l8 formed on the inner. faces of each of the legs 15 adjacent said pivotal member ll for coaction with sets of sockets [9 formed on opposite'sidesof the bar l3.

The resiliency of the legs I coacting with said sets of protuberances and said sets of sockets releasably maintain the bar I3 in adjusted positions, the protuberances snapping into the sockets.

The aforesaid short stem I4 has its inner end riveted at 20 or otherwise secured in an aperture 2I in the bight portion I6 of the said U-shaped portion of the shank, and there being a small stop plate 22 fixed on said stem and resting on said bight portion I6 to coact with the riveted inner end 20 of said stem to hold the stem and the U-shaped member in tight alignment connection.

The stem I4 has a small, substantially oblong plate 23 fixedly secured to the outer end thereof and which is secured fixedly by soldering 'or otherwise to the under surface of a rectangular shaped head 24 to which latter the aforesaid reversible front member I2 is pivoted at 25 intermediate the ends of said head 24. The head 24 being rigid with the shank I I, it may be well considered as part of the shank.

The head 24, in this particular instance, is formed of metal having slightly rounded ends and on its outer surface has ornamental, alter nately arranged ridges and grooves 26 and 21, respectively, but it; is to be understood that the head may be formed of material other than metal and that the outer surface of the same may be ornamented otherwise than as shown and described herein.

The front member I2, in this instance, is composed of a metal or other shell 28 and a colored stone or other material 29 connected together. The shell of this front member maybe of gold, silver, or other polished metal and the stone may be red, blue or of any other color. As shown for purposes of illustration and as described herein, the shell and the stone parts of the front member are of the same substantially pear or heart shape and they are soldered or otherwise connected or cemented together. It is essential that the color of the stone contrast with the color of the shell whether the parts be otherwise ornamented or not. The idea involved is a character of front member which has difiering design, color or ornamental characteristics on the inner and outer faces thereof.

To connect the shell 28 and the stone 29 together, the shell is provided with a resilient or flexible flange of bead 30 to engage the edge of the stone 29 by way of further securing, if not providing the sole way of securing, the shell and the stone together as a unit.

The composite front member is pivoted at 25 I to said head 24 intermediate the ends of the latter and it is provided at one end with a recess 3I similar in form to the rectangular shape of the head 24 and when the front member is in reversed position, it embraces the sides and the inner end of the head at one end of the latter, the recess opening outwardly through the end of the front member so as to permit swinging movement of the. front member backwardly and forwardly on its pivot 25 to thereby present to view either surface of the front member, providing an outer front member of contrasting color or design on opposite faces thereof for disclosure or display, interchangeably, as may be desired by the wearer. When the front member is disposed at substantially a right angle to the stem I4 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with either its outer or its inner face disposed outwardly, the head 24 substantially fills the recess in the front '4 member and the outer face of the head extends substantially flush with that face of the front member that is outwardly disposed and acts complementally thereto to present a continuous symmetrical ornamental design.

The reversal of the front member may be accomplished with the cuff button in operative position with relation to the wearers shirt cuff, as well as being shiftable to reverse positions before applying the cuff link to the wearers shirt cuff and it will be seen that in all events, the front member embraces the head 24 when in operative relation therewith or while pivotally shifting the front member on the head.

The pivotal mounting of the front member on said head and the recess in the front member permits the latter to swing about said head laterally across the plane of the longitudinal axis of the shank to reversethe position of the front member and consequently reverse and expose or display said differing ornamental surfaces inwardly and outwardly, interchangeably. In either position, the front member is shown slightly offset with relation to the longitudinal axis of the shank and the exposed or displayed ornamental surface is presented in full view on the outside of the wearers shirt sleeve cuff.

A holding means is provided to hold the front member. I2 in operative positions on the head member 24. This may be accomplished in different ways but in the instant case, it will be seen that the relatively thin, flexible 0r resilient flange 30 of the shell 28 at the open end of the aforesaid recess 3| has its ends turned or extended into the recess 3| into flush engagement, with a portion of their lengths against the sides of the aforesaid recess 3I. These inturned ends 32 and 33 of the flange 30 are each slotted as at 34 to provide yieldable, flexible, resilient arms 35 and 36 which normally flex inwardly towards each other as shown particularly in Figure 5. The flexible arms 35 and 36 are normally flexed inwardly towards each other and flexed outwardly away from each other as the front member is seated upon the head 24. The arms 35 and 36 carry semi-spherical protuberances 31 and 38 which are adapted to ride into or snap into the respective cavities 0r sockets 39 and 40 in the opposite side walls of the head 24, as shown particularly in Figure 4.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the shell 28-30 may be of any suitable material such as gold, silver, or any other highly polished ornamental material and that in addition, the shell 28 may have its body portion exteriorly ornamented in any suitable manner, the character of color, or character of ornamentation being immaterial, so long as the shell 28 contrasts with the color or ornamentation of the stone 29 which may be of any suitable color so long as it differentiates by contrasting from the shell 28.

It will be understood from the foregoing that there may be an effective frictional holding of the front member on the head member by the use of one arm carried by said member and carrying a protuberance for engagement in a cavity or socket at each end of the head on one side of the head or in other words, two sockets on one side of the head on opposite sides of the shank to take the protuberance of the one arm interchangeably as regards said sockets to hold the front member releasably in its operative positions on the head. From another viewpoint, the sockets or cavities and the protuberances may be eliminatedby the use of one spring arm or two spring arms, they being yieldable, will create sufficient frictional contact of resistance between the arm or arms and the respective member or members as to hold the members frictionally, re-

leasably together in operative relation, one memher with respect to the other member.

The pivotally mounted reversible front memher having different ornamental characteristics on its inner and outer faces and having a recess therein to receive the head on the shank, and means for releasably holding the front member with either side face thereof disposed in display position, shown in this application is not claimed broadly therein, but is broadly claimed in application Serial No. 111,640 filed August 22, 1949.

What is claimed is:

l. A reversible cuff link comprising a shank, a cuff engaging means at one end of the shank, a head at the opposite end of the shank having sockets in each side thereof, a reversible front member pivotally mounted on said head and having differing ornamental characteristics on its inner and outer surfaces, said front member hav ing a recess therein which embraces said head, and spring arms mounted within said recess, one at each side thereof, and each spring arm having a portion movable relatively to the side walls of the recess and provided with a protuberance to snap into the respective sockets in the sides of said head when the front member is in either of its operative reversible positions to thereby releasably hold the front member on the head.

2. A reversible link comprising a shank, a cuff engaging means at one end of the shank, an elon gated head at the opposite end of the shank, a reversible front member pivotally mounted on said head to swing thereon into and out of cooperative relation with said head and having differing ornamental characteristics on its inner and outer surfaces, said front member having a recess leading inwardly from one end thereof to embrace said head in either reversible position of the front member on the head, said head having a socket in one side of the head near each end thereof, and a spring arm carried by the front member and extending along one side of said recess, said spring arm having a portion movable relatively to the side Walls of the recess and carrying a protuberance releasably engageable in the respective sockets of the head when the front member is in either of its reversed positions to thereby hold the front member in operative reversed position on the head.

3. A cuff link comprising a shank, a cuif engaging means at one end of the shank, a head at the opposite end of the shank, a reversible front member pivotally mounted to swing on said head and having differing ornamental characteristics on its inner and outer surfaces and also having a recess embracing said head when the front member is in either of its reversed positions, spring arms carried by the front member and extending along the sides of said recess, said spring arms having portions movable relatively to the side walls of the recess to engage the opposite sides of said head to reieasably hold the front member on the head in either of its reversed positions.

4. A cuff link comprising a shank, a cuff engaging means at one end of theshank, a head at the opposite end of the shank, a reversible front member pivotally mounted to swing on said head and having differing ornamental characteristics on its inner and outer surfaces and also having a recess embracing said head when the front member is in either of its reversed positions, a spring arm carried by the front member and extending along one side of the recess, said spring arm having a portion movable relatively to the side walls of the recess to engage the adjacent side of the head to releasably hold the front member on the head in either of its reversed positions.

5. A cuff link comprising a shank, a cuff engaging means at one end of the shank, a head at the opposite end of the shank, a reversible front member pivotally mounted to swing on said head and having differing ornamental characteristics on its inner and outer surfaces and also having a recess embracing said head when the front member is in either of its reversed'positions, a spring arm carried by the front member and extending along one side of the recess, said spring arm having a free end portion movable relatively to the side walls of the recess to engage the adjacent side of the head to releasably hold the front member on the head in either of its reversed positions.

WILLIAM H. MEEKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,518,989 Lindsay Dec. 9, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 238,783 Great Britain Aug. 27, 1925 

